Lioness and Tigress
by Tori Aoshiro
Summary: A tumblr-inspired story. A day in the life of Judy and Savannah, two shapeshifters deeply in love with each other, raising a litter of five cubs on an island, a reservation for the protection of shapeshifters.


_Hello everyone! Today, I'm presenting you a little one-shot inspired by this tumblr post : **h.t.t.p.s : / / torisfeather . tumblr post/182738108390/its-cute-guys-nothing-but-respect-for-my-lesbian**_

_Enjoy_

* * *

The ring of the phone interrupted the catchy music and the sound of punches against the training dummy. Judy grabbed her cellphone and picked up, still covered in sweat, without even taking the time to catch her breath.

"Judy?"

"Savannah!" the young woman cheered, and the striped tail at the bottom of her spine started waving with joy. She grinned a beautiful, large, sharp toothy smile as she continued. "Oh, I was missing your voice, darling! Did you pick out a dress for tonight? Gail says it'll be fancy, but whatever, you'll look like a supermodel no matter what you wear anyway. Do we still have beef for the cubs? I can drop by the butcher shop if…"

"Judy, Judy, please," interrupted the voice on the other side of the phone.

The tigress immediately frowned and her fuzzy ears tensed, moving towards the back of her head. "Sorry, is something going on?"

"No, well, not exactly. It's probably nothing, but I was wondering if you could come by and help me?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Judy assured. She stuck the phone against her shoulder and started unstrapping her protections as she spoke. "I'm at the dojo, my shift ended early. Where do I go?"

"The park."

"The park?" Judy stopped in surprise. "Why the park?" She took her things back to the empty locker room and set the phone on speakers so she could change and listen at the same time.

"I went there with the cubs, this afternoon. It was warm and I thought they would like the sun- well, whatever. The problem is they wanted to play hide-and-seek, and I can't find Kim."

Judy's face hesitated between a wince and a proud expression. Kim was very good at hiding, being the smallest among her brothers and sisters. On one hand, this was a very useful talent. On the other hand, it made watching her a living hell. "Did you try calling for her saying she won?"

"Yes, and they all joined in too, but she did not answer. I'm afraid she left the park."

"No, no, she wouldn't do that, she's too young…" Judy stuffed her dirty clothes into her bag and, back in her pleated pants and dress shoes, ran to the exit, her phone stuck to her ear, nodding goodbye at her teacher, an old red panda who took himself way too seriously and grumbled when he saw her leaving early. "Don't move, stay with the cubs, I'll meet up with you."

"Yes, we'll wait for you. Thank you, Judy."

"No worries, kitten, it's all good!" the tigress cooed sweetly. She had an amused smile when Savannah didn't reply, probably embarrassed at the nickname. "See you soon!"

"See you soon, darling," the younger woman replied.

Judy hung up, smiling lovingly despite her worry. Kim couldn't be very far, but with four other toddlers to watch over, no wonder Savannah couldn't search the park too well. She just hoped she hadn't been caught by one of those tourists who thought they were at the country fair whenever they saw a small animal _again_. Some people really thought they could do anything they wanted!

No need to take the bus, the dojo was only a few minutes away from the park. Judy started trotting hastily, letting the other passersby move out of her way – a woman like her was an impressive sight, especially when she had her hunting beast face on. She slowed down as she saw the park gates, watching her surroundings to make sure there were no humans carrying a little girl or a tiger cub in their arms, or even a suspicious moving bag, you never know…

At first glance, no feline-liking kidnapper in sight. Judy kept walking through the gates, her eyes on the lookout, calling out her daughter's name. But if Kim was hiding, and wasn't answering her calls, that left her only one solution to find her.

She briefly wondered if she should change, her sense of smell was so much better in her other form – but no, not yet, she'd rather have her hands free to catch her little rascal. She inhaled deeply the fresh air of the park, the scent of flowers and cut grass, the stench of decomposing humus at the foot of the trees, the marine breeze coming from the beach…

She whirled around so quickly her bag whooshed through the air. The breeze was coming from behind her, and it was carrying another familiar smell, of dust and milk and bark. Oh dear, had she really gone outside?

No. She would have seen her. But then where? Feeling more and more lost, Judy kept calling her daughter's name, kept inhaling to find the origin of the smell. She was going to get light-headed if she kept at it, but where could she be?

Her left ear perked up before she even realized what she had heard. She sighed, half-perplexed half-annoyed, before turning to the bushes at the foot of the park's walls. Something was snoring among the rustling leaves and creaky wood. She stepped closer, bent down, and had to hold back a chuckle when she saw her little Kim, tiny in her tiger cub form, laying among the branches, her back legs tangled in the lower twigs, snoring contently. Well, at least this time, she wouldn't have to go look for her at the customs office.

"Come out of here, my little sweetie pie," Judy cooed, reaching out to grab her offspring. Reflexively, Kim bit her hand, half-awake, but without hurting her at all. Judy didn't bat an eye and just held her in her arms, happy she had found her. "We'll need to have a talk," she growled softly. Then she pulled out her phone with one hand to call Savannah and let her know she had found the naughty girl.

"Thank god, where are you?"

"Northern exit."

"We're com- Hush, Cam, I'm speaking with your mother. We're coming right away."

"They're quite energetic today, aren't they?" Judy chuckled.

"They are…" Savannah grumbled. "I don't know how they manage to be this carefree."

"They know they have two wonderful moms to look after them!"

"They take after you is mostly the reason, I think…"

"Oh, ouch, that hurt!" Judy laughed. "Alright, see you in a jiffy, sweetheart."

* * *

They had gone home, side by side. Savannah maneuvered the half-empty stroller and Judy carried in her arms two of her cubs who had thrown a fit of jealousy when they saw her cradling little sleeping Kim. Taking care of a litter of toddlers was quite demanding, that's why Judy was very, very happy she had her mate with her to help her.

They lived in a building on the western suburb, not far from the forest, in a residence the island's owners had attributed to "big cats". They were more exotic than the cute cats and dogs filling the city center and the fantasies of human tourists on vacation, but they were also rarer as members of their species. Before the establishment of the island as a shapeshifter reservation, predators such as themselves had been hunted almost to extinction, hence the protection measures that had been put in place.

Their apartment was a bit cramped for a family of seven, but not uncomfortable in the least. Once they arrived, they were able to settled their pack of little terrors in the living room and let them play in peace. Judy was watching over them from the kitchen as she made diner – bò bún with a lot of beef.

Kim was looking at picture books on the couch, still a little knocked out from her long outing at the park. Her sister, Loan, also seemed very calm, but it certainly wasn't the case for the three others. Cam, Mai and Dan were playing with their little plastic animals and for the umpteenth time had started fighting over their names. Judy wasn't trying to cool the debate, the three cubs couldn't remember their own suggestions and mostly seemed to be fighting just for the fun of it.

In fact, she was participating in the discussion, yelling her contributions from the kitchen, because as innocent as that was, she wasn't going to let her children name one of their toys "Pussina, princess of pussies".

"Judy?"

She turned around with a slight start and froze for a few moment, a slow smile creeping up on her face. Savannah had changed and was now wearing a long bright yellow dress, a radiant contrast with her black skin. Her neck and wrists were adorned with beautiful fake-gold and stones jewelry, and her hair was styled in a large bun, bringing out her sand-colored lion ears. "You are beautiful, love!" Judy exclaimed. "Come, come with me!" she added, pulling her to the living room.

"Wait, no, the diner!" the lioness protested.

"It'll wait! Kits!" she called. "Look at how beautiful your mother is! Look at Mama Savannah!"

Cam, Mai and Dan stopped their discussion for ten seconds before going back to it without a word. Kim nodded, reaching up and making grabby hands in hopes of being picked up, but Loan, however, did look very impressed by her second mother's dress. Yellow was her favorite color, after all.

"Thank you, sweetie," Savannah murmured. "Well, Judy, go change now, it's about time."

"Okay, you can finish making diner," Judy said, stealing a kiss from her mate before heading to their bedroom.

Savannah didn't comment on it, but smiled dreamily even as her children sang a chorus of "mommy and mommy, sittin' in a tree!". She sat Kim back down on the couch and went to the kitchen to finish cooking the food.

As she finished frying the noodles with the beef and vegetables, she heard a noise in the entrance, followed by a cavalcade of tiny feet against the floor, and before she could turn off the heat, a high-pitched scream sounded through the apartment. "Mom! Aunt Carol is here!"

A warm and loud sound of laughter informed her that, indeed, their neighbor had just made an entrance. Savannah let out a short sigh and left the kitchen to find the young woman carrying Cam and Dan, one on each arm. "_Buenas tardes! Dios mio_, Savannah, is that a new dress? You look astounding!"

"Thank you Carol," Savannah smiled. "And you are looking good yourself!" Carol laughed and bounced the two little boys she was carrying around effortlessly in her arms. Judy and Savannah couldn't complain about muscles, being respectively great at boxing and running, but Carol was practically a professional athlete and her biceps would easily make anyone drool, even without taking into account her tan skin and long brown curls from which two mountain lion ears were poking out.

After closing the front door, Savannah followed Carol into the living room where she dropped Cam and Dan on the sofa. The rest of the tiger cubs quickly jumped on her for the right to be hurled around as well. "Judy isn't here?" Carol asked.

"She's still getting ready. It's so nice of you that you agreed to babysit the kits tonight."

"Oh, you know, that's really nothing, I love your little furballs!" she laughed. "Isn't that right, _niñitos_? Yes it is!" she purred at the cubs who replied with a chorus of giggling.

Even if she had grown on the island, Carol was very proud of her Latina origins and her Spanish accent thick as redwood that she cared for like other women cared for their nails. It made Savannah laugh, but deep down, she was envious, even if she would never admit it. She too would have wanted a family, a solid origin, a link to the outside world, to names like Isiolo, Kenya, and Africa.

"Carol!" Judy suddenly exclaimed from the bedroom before affectionately throwing herself at her.

The two women spun around for a moment, greeting each other, and Savannah couldn't hold back her fond laughter when they pulled her into their embrace as well.

She got a long kiss on her lips from her wife before they all backed off in order to admire Judy's orange striped vintage dress. It was far from new, but it was the tigress's favorite, and Savannah wasn't going to complain. The round knee-length skirt brought up her otherwise narrow hips and emphasized her graceful legs. A dash of makeup framed her almond-shaped eyes and golden skin which Savannah wanted to touch all night.

If only they didn't have to go to this party…

"Okay now, we shouldn't be late, otherwise we'll miss all the good appetizers!" Judy declared. "My loves, we'll come home late, so we'll see all of you tomorrow morning, okay?"

She cut her words with kisses on each of her cubs' heads, and they responded with disappointed pouts. Savannah followed her example, kissing each child before walking out the front door as Carol announced it was time for diner.

* * *

Parties were a regular thing on the island, and the reason was the same as for everything else.

Tourists.

More precisely, the rich friends and associates of the Meadowers family which had founded and managed the reservation. Savannah wasn't one to complain, they were the reason she was alive, but that did not make the perspective of meeting all those curious and intrusive humans more attractive.

Judy, on the contrary, had no problem with that. She was candid and playful, and her rarity, as well as her participation in the reproduction program which had led to her litter of tiger cubs, always drew visitors' attention. That was precisely the reason why Gail, the local police captain she worked for, always thought of her first when he had invitations to give away.

Most guests were strangers, visiting humans, investors that needed to be impressed. Thankfully, there were also a few familiar faces. Members of the administration of course, but also the three Meadowers grandchildren: Andrew, Marylin and Ophelia, who always made an apparition at the beginning of the party under their parents' vigilant gaze. The eldest was only seven. Judy and Savannah thought they were adorable in their little grown-up costumes, even if their place clearly wasn't in such a fancy reception.

And then, there were the ones, like Judy, who were often invited for their beauty or their rarity. That's how the lioness and the tigress had come to know the bald eagles, Val, Valor and Star, three of the most prized members of the shapeshifter community in the park. They were always the ones the two felines greeted first and tonight was no exception.

Judy had jumped on Val as Savannah greeted his two partners, glad to see them again. She didn't get to meet the birds often, since their neighborhood was located near the mountain. Approaching Star, she noticed her round belly and raised her eyebrows, a happy smile stretching her lips. "Star, are you…?" she trailed off, letting the bird lady confirm or deny her implication.

The young woman had a shy but happy smile when she nodded, covered by Val and Valor's tender gazes.

"What?" Juda asked, noticing the three birds of prey's silence. Then, she saw the way Star kept a hand over the round shape of her abdomen, and she beamed. "You're going to be parents?! Oh my God, congratulations, this is wonderful!" she exclaimed, pulling Star close. "Do you know who the father is?"

"Both, I hope! If we're lucky," Star giggled, looking at her husbands.

"I hope it'll be Val," Valor smiled, petting the line of white feathers adorning his mate's hairline.

"True. If one of them starts making hipster sculptures with what they find in the nest, we'll know it's yours," Val joked.

Valor's arm immediately wrapped him into a headlock. Their huge brown wings puffed up in their backs as they play-fought. "For the last time, it's modern art!"

"Hipster art!"

"Twerps, the two of them…" Star lamented. "And to think they are going to be fathers."

Judy and Savannah laughed heartily before walking away into the crowd in order to enjoy the party.

Time flowed slowly. Judy had exterminated the buffet table and gladly spoke to the guests about her job, her love for martial arts, her cubs' exploits, and her mate's beauty. Savannah also had to answer her share of questions, and contrary to the older woman, easily noticed and glared away the salacious ogles and easily missed rude gestures among so many people. Very quickly, all of this attention had worn her out and she had left Judy to enjoy herself alone.

She had picked up a glass of champagne and quietly exiled herself on the balcony, where the noise of conversations and the volume of the music were tolerable. It was a bit cold, but it was better than the general agitation inside the duplex the reception was happening in. Down below, the lights of city center formed a sparkling and colorful tapestry.

She wasn't working the next day, which she was thankful for after such a party. It had already happened for her to have to do her deliveries after only two hours of sleep, and then having to take care of the children in the afternoon, during Judy's shift. But it hadn't happened again, her mate had grown more responsible after a few nights spent on the couch. You wouldn't think the tigress was the oldest out of the two of them, but you'd be wrong.

After a long time spent contemplating the night, greeting a possible smoker or someone else needing a breath of fresh air from time to time, a cry pulled her ears backwards. Savannah whirled around to see, through the glass windows, Judy, half her butt sat on a chair, a hand in the air in front of her, covered in blood. The lioness's heart skipped a beat and she rushed inside.

"What happened?" she asked the first person who met her gaze, a bunny who immediately ran away. She rolled her eyes, then set them on Judy who was still looking at her bloody hand with a dumbfounded look, surrounded by a few perplexed guests. She stepped closer and took her hand between her fingers, trying to judge the damage. A few glass shards were stuck in her palm, and now that she noticed it, the remains of a champagne glass were scattered on the floor.

"Savannah," Judy whispered, tears in her blank eyes.

"Judy, what happened?" Savannah asked, although she now had an idea of the nature of the accident.

"It'suh him, that guy, said I was pwettier than you!" she accused, pointing at the crowd's general direction. "But you're prettier than eeeeeeeevryone here!"

"Judy, you reek, how many drinks did you have?"

"Uh… Dunno."

Savannah sighed, and almost even laughed. "Way too many."

"Naah, the glasses are tiny!"

"And yet, you are drunk. Everyone," she added, turning to their audience, "please excuse us."

"No, no, no, love, don't apologize for me!" Judy lamented, and ignoring her cuts, she made wide gestures at her mate. "See that yall, that's what a perfect woman looks like! Isn't she beautiful? Too bad for you, she's miiine!" she sing-sang, and this time, Savannah actually laughed.

She helped the tigress up and led her away, away from the curious humans and closer to the exit. When she took out her phone, a voice interrupted her. "I already called a taxi, don't bother."

Mr. Meadowers stood close to them, a small first-aid kit in his hands. Savannah and Judy both made a guilty frown. This wasn't the first time Judy left completely drunk, but the tigress couldn't control herself, or say no when she was offered another glass. Thankfully, the old grandfather Meadowers never took offence. According to him, he would get bored if there wasn't always at least one accident during his receptions.

He helped Savannah to sit Judy against a wall. An employee brought a basin and a glass of water as he took care of extracting the glass pieces with a tweezer, gathering them in a paper tissue slowly getting stained with blood. With each shard he managed to get out, Judy would let out a short high-pitched cry and Savannah would pet her hair. "Sorry about this incident, Mr. Meadowers."

"Now, now, it's fine. I'm glad you were enjoying the party so much."

"Still."

"Come on, don't take this opportunity to play nurses away from me," he joked.

He carefully examined Judy's palm to make sure he hadn't left any shard, then started cleaning it with gaze and disinfectant Savannah was holding for him. Judy cried quietly. Savannah only noticed when she saw the wet spots on the fabric of her dress. "Judy, does it hurt? Do you feel sick?" she asked, worried despite the superficial wound.

"N-no, I'm sorryyyy," Judy whined, sniffling.

"Come now, I told you it was nothing," Mr. Meadowers tried to comfort her.

"But I broke a glass! I need to repay you but I don't have anything to pay with right now, and also I don't know how much it cost, how much does a champagne glass cost? It wasn't empty either, so it was less expensive than a full glass…"

"Judy, Judy, hush, it's fine, we'll talk about it when you're sober, okay love?" Savannah whispered, petting her back with her free hand.

Judy stopped babbling, her wet gaze fixated on her wife. Mr. Meadowers was laughing as he patched up her hand which had almost stopped bleeding already. "No need to discuss anything, I have more champagne glasses than I can count."

"We'd still like to…"

"No, Savannah," he said firmly, looking up at her. She gulped. The old man rarely ever used this serious gaze which made her feel like she was a tiny lost lion cub again. "You are my guests and under my protection as members of this reservation. You don't owe me anything more than your presence."

"Yes sir."

"Thank you."

He smiled again, and finished his task. Judy, still fixated on Savannah, seemed to barely register that he was done bandaging her wound and didn't have the mind to put her hand down. The lioness took it delicately to bring it to her knees, caressing her knuckles with the tip of her fingers. Judy smiled lovingly as she gazed at her, blinking slowly and making little noises as she breathed out her nose. Savannah felt almost flustered by her attention. "Yes, my love?" she murmured.

"You so nice… When I'm unwell you so nice with me…"

"Ah, you think I'm mean when everything is fine?"

Judy's eyes grew wide and she opened her mouth in such shock Savannah couldn't help but laugh. "No, you're always super nice! How'd you do it?" she asked Judy deadly seriously.

"Mister Meadowers," an employee called, "the taxi has arrived."

"Thank you Paul," the old man replied as he stood, his first-aid kit in hand. "Ladies, would you like me to lead you out?"

"Thank you sir, but we'll be fine. And thank you for your help as well," Savannah said, standing up in turn, before holding up Judy from her armpits.

"Yes thanks! And sorry about the glass. They're really too small."

"It was my pleasure. I hope I'll see you again soon," he added with a smile before walking away.

Savannah led Judy to the elevator to get down to the first floor and out into the street, trying to ignore the amused or pitied looks landing on them. Judy was standing more or less straight, but she still kept her hands firmly around her shoulders.

"Savannaaaaaah? Do you know what we should do?"

"No."

"Midnight run!"

"We have a taxi, love."

"That's okay!"

"It's dark outside."

"But we can see. With our cat eyes."

"You'll end up head first in a hole."

"That's not true, I'm purrrrrfectly fine," she purred, rubbing her nose over Savannah's neck.

The latter smiled and turned to her. Her arms touched her shoulders more softly, running up and down her back, drawing shivers and little moans out of the older woman. She tilted her chin up to see her better, and then crashed against her lips for a long kiss. Judy started to turn into goo between her hands, ready to collapse, her eyes closed, only focused on her mate's delicious tongue caressing hers.

When Savannah stopped, the elevator door opened on the first floor with a tiny *ding* and she almost carried Judy to the taxi waiting outside.

"Come on, get in," she ordered before giving their address to the driver, a middle aged man with mice ears, and front teeth to go with them.

"Okay…" Judy whined, dropping on the backseat, her eyes half-closed. "But I still could have run," she drawled insistently. "I'm purrrrrrfectly fine…"

* * *

"Urgh… Everything hurts and I'm dying…"

Judy's complaint was interrupted by another acid reflux she tried to spit into the toilets. She wiped her eyes and mouth, and focused on her breathing. The nausea calmed down a little, giving her a moment of respite.

The bathroom light was way too bright. She closed her eyes and touched her long hair to calm herself down. Savannah had pulled them back with a hairclip before going to get her something for her headache.

Sometimes, Judy wondered how this woman so calm and meticulous managed to put up with her hangovers, her energy and her total incapacity to learn from her mistakes.

Deciding that her stomach was done panicking, she crawled into the dark bedroom and dropped herself over the covers, sobbing when her neck made a weird noise and her headache worsened for a few seconds.

"What did we learn?"

She opened an eye, but didn't feel able to turn her head to the doorframe where Savannah stood, so she just looked at nothing. "No more than four glasses, next time."

"Good."

"Even if they are tiny."

"Right. Here, take your pill."

Judy sat up as best she could and propped herself against the bedframe before taking the glass of water and downing the painkiller Savannah was presenting her. She finished her glass in three gulps.

"Oh my, look at you, poor thing…" Savannah sighed almost mockingly.

"You are cruel…"

"And here I thought you thought I was nice." She bent down to kiss the tigress and a smile from her let her know she was forgiven. "You need to eat something."

"Not now…"

"Banana and bacon?"

Judy thought about it, then shook her head carefully. "Can I just have a hug, for now?"

"Hum… I think I can do better," Savannah smiled.

She left and Judy rolled her eyes with a wince. To be honest, she was a little hungry, but she was afraid of vomiting again if she put anything in her stomach. She felt like she was at the beginning of her pregnancy again, carrying her litter of five tiger cubs and wondering if she really wanted to be a mother that much.

A few minutes passed in a more or less enjoyable blur depending on how aware she was of her pain, then she heard a noise at the door again.

"Quiet, alright? Mommy is a little bit sick, so you have to be good, okay?"

The panel cracked open, and five little faces came through, hesitant at first, then more assured when they saw their mother's smile and open arms as she laid in bed.

Cam, Loan, Mai, Dan and Kim jumped on the mattress, babbling quietly words of love or concern Judy couldn't make out. She just nodded gently in response as Savannah pushed the door as well, holding a plate with two bananas and a nice little amount of bacon she set on the bedtable before settling down next to the tigress and her litter. "Is this good?" she murmured tenderly.

"It's perfect," Judy purred.

Her headache was subsiding slightly. She felt her cubs lying down around her. Cam and Mai snuggled against her left side. Dan on her right, his head on her breast. Kim and Loan, in feline forms, rolled on her belly and lap. And Savannah, on her right, giving away grilled pork and offering her a banana.

She accepted it, a moved smile lighting up her face. At this moment, she felt like the luckiest shapeshifter in the world. She may be a walking disaster during parties. She spoke to anyone and danced shamelessly and couldn't control her strength when she held an umpteenth glass in her hand.

But she had the nicest of mates and the most beautiful of families, and even if the aftermath was harsh, she would always feel better, surrounded by her own.

* * *

_I hope you liked it!_

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_See you soon!_


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